Ruth Rendell | The Guardianhttps://www.theguardian.com/books/ruth-rendell
Latest news and features from theguardian.com, the world's leading liberal voiceen-gbGuardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. 2016Fri, 09 Dec 2016 14:03:31 GMT2016-12-09T14:03:31Zen-gbGuardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. 2016The Guardianhttps://assets.guim.co.uk/images/guardian-logo-rss.c45beb1bafa34b347ac333af2e6fe23f.pnghttps://www.theguardian.com
Figures of Catastrophe by Francis Mulhern review – reasons to be cheerlesshttps://www.theguardian.com/books/2016/apr/21/figures-of-catastrophe-condition-culture-novel-francis-mulhern-review
A short but intense study of fiction by a stalwart of the left draws EM Forster, John Fowles and Ruth Rendell into its gloomy prognosis<p>In the late 1970s, Francis Mulhern’s <a href="http://www.lrb.co.uk/v01/n05/roger-poole/fr-leavis-politics-and-religion" title=""><em>The Moment of Scrutiny</em></a> was mandatory if daunting reading for English Literature students who wanted to think of themselves as socialists. In dense but eloquent Marxist prose, Mulhern wrestled with the legacy of FR Leavis and tried to marry the rigour of Leavisite literary criticism with a commitment to&nbsp;the class struggle that Leavis sadly lacked. Mulhern was still in his mid‑20s and seemed a confident prodigy of&nbsp;leftist learning. Surely he would become&nbsp;a leading cultural prophet?</p><p>In the years the followed he wrote for and edited the <a href="https://newleftreview.org/" title="">New Left Review</a>, and taught in the US and Britain, but faded from even academic notoriety. Where the unaccountable tendency of&nbsp;the working classes to vote Conservative rather than agitating for socialism spurred many of his NLR comrades to new theoretical outpourings, he went quiet. Now he publishes a short but intense book that returns to the old battleground - literary culture – and for&nbsp;some of the old reasons. “This is an essay in Marxist formalism,” the preface sternly announces. What can the politically <em>engagé</em> extract from English fiction of the last century or so?</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/books/2016/apr/21/figures-of-catastrophe-condition-culture-novel-francis-mulhern-review">Continue reading...</a>Literary criticismEM ForsterVirginia WoolfJohn FowlesRuth RendellMartin AmisThomas HardyBooksCultureThu, 21 Apr 2016 08:00:02 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/books/2016/apr/21/figures-of-catastrophe-condition-culture-novel-francis-mulhern-reviewPhotograph: Moviestore/REX/ShutterstockPhotograph: Moviestore/REX/ShutterstockJohn Mullan2016-04-21T08:00:02ZThe Good Liar by Nicholas Searle review – a thriller that will trip you uphttps://www.theguardian.com/books/2016/jan/02/good-liar-nicholas-searle-review
An ageing conman is not who he seems in this fantastically assured debut<p>One of those intermittent publishing fusses over a talked-up book by an unknown author occurred last autumn, when a debut novel by Nicholas Searle called <em>A Reckoning</em> was lucratively sold in the UK and US after a fight for the rights. Searle offers the media an enticing short-term backstory – as a retiree who developed the novel at a writing school set up by the literary agents Curtis Brown – and, going further back in time, an even more tantalising CV. He studied at a German university and, his&nbsp;author biography notes, “is not allowed to say more about his career than that he was a senior civil servant for many years” – a formulation that those familiar with the dustjacket subterfuges of certain spies-turned-writers will find a little … well, spooky.</p><p>And John le Carré, it turns out, is one of the biggest tutelary influences (along with Patricia Highsmith and Ruth Rendell) on a novel that, in the gap between sale and publication, has changed its name to <em>The Good Liar</em>, although its enjoyable momentum still leads towards a reckoning.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/books/2016/jan/02/good-liar-nicholas-searle-review">Continue reading...</a>Crime fictionThrillersFictionBooksCultureJohn le CarréPatricia HighsmithRuth RendellSat, 02 Jan 2016 07:30:04 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/books/2016/jan/02/good-liar-nicholas-searle-reviewPhotograph: Bettmann/CORBISPhotograph: Bettmann/CORBISMark Lawson2016-01-02T07:30:04ZRuth Rendell remembered by Valerie Amoshttps://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/dec/27/ruth-rendell-remembered--valerie-amos-observer-obituaries-2015
<p><strong>17 February 1930 – 2 May 2015</strong><br>The writer’s colleague in the House of Lords remembers a loyal and generous friend, who was also a committed political campaigner<br><br>• <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/series/the-observer-s-obituaries-of-2015">Read the Observer’s obituaries of 2015 in full here</a><br>• <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/dec/27/oliver-sacks-reminiscence-obituary-nephew-neurologist-awakenings">Oliver Sacks remembered by his nephew, Jonathan Sacks</a></p><p>Ruth is best known for her writing, but for over 17 years she was a valued and committed member of the House of Lords. She used her considerable knowledge, talent and influence to draw attention to areas of social injustice as she abhorred any form of inequality, prejudice or discrimination and wasn’t afraid to say so.</p><p>I first met Ruth in 1997 when we were both made Labour peers after the election. We were an interesting group that included the largest number of women, at that time, to come in on one list. Most of us had not expected to be there and we found it strange at first. We constantly broke the rules because we didn’t know what they were and we didn’t take it well when we were told off! And we took delight in sharing information such as the fastest route to somewhere in the rabbit warren that is the parliamentary estate, finding hidden gems like the archives or something basic but crucial, like the location of the hairdressing salon. And in answer to the frequently asked question: “What is the collective noun for a group of baronesses?”, the answer “a beauty of baronesses” was coined. I can’t remember who first came up with it, but I like to think it was Ruth. It sounds like her.</p><p>Ruth relished political gossip and we sometimes spent hours discussing the ins and outs of Labour</p><p> <span>Related: </span><a href="http://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/dec/13/ruth-rendell-dark-corners-review-final-novel">Dark Corners review – Ruth Rendell’s final novel ratchets up the tension</a> </p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/dec/27/ruth-rendell-remembered--valerie-amos-observer-obituaries-2015">Continue reading...</a>Ruth RendellBooksCultureHouse of LordsSun, 27 Dec 2015 09:30:14 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/dec/27/ruth-rendell-remembered--valerie-amos-observer-obituaries-2015Photograph: Felix Clay for the GuardianPhotograph: Felix Clay for the GuardianValerie Amos2015-12-27T09:30:14ZDark Corners review – Ruth Rendell’s final novel ratchets up the tensionhttps://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/dec/13/ruth-rendell-dark-corners-review-final-novel
It’s the fine detail that enthrals in this tale of small lapses that lead to escalating calamity<p>The late <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/may/02/ruth-rendell-obituary-crime-writer" title="">Ruth Rendell</a>’s final novel is built on that most unnerving of things: catastrophe brought about not by premeditated evil but by a momentary moral failure that gets repeatedly compounded. Carl is in the early stages of a career as a novelist and feeling the pinch as he writes the follow-up to his debut, Death’s Door. Easy money, then, to sell some mysterious diet pills left lying around his house to his best friend, Stacey. When tragedy strikes (predictably enough for us, if not Carl), Carl’s lodger, creepy Dermot from the pet clinic, seizes the perfect opportunity for blackmail. But while the plot drives one forward, it’s the incidental detail that captivates: shabby-genteel Maida Vale, a bus-fixated retiree and snippets of sly humour. Here’s one of my favourite characters, Lizzie Milsom, making a devastating discovery: “She didn’t scream. Privately, she believed that women who screamed when they found a dead body only did it for effect.”</p><p><em>Dark Corners is published by Hutchinson (£18.99). </em><a href="https://bookshop.theguardian.com/catalog/product/view/id/334649/?utm_source=editoriallink&amp;utm_medium=merch&amp;utm_campaign=article" title=""><em>Click here to buy it for £15.19</em></a></p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/dec/13/ruth-rendell-dark-corners-review-final-novel">Continue reading...</a>Ruth RendellCrime fictionFictionBooksCultureSun, 13 Dec 2015 11:00:22 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/dec/13/ruth-rendell-dark-corners-review-final-novelPhotograph: Felix Clay for the GuardianPhotograph: Felix Clay for the GuardianAlex Clark2015-12-13T11:00:22ZSerial thrillers: why true crime is popular culture's most wantedhttps://www.theguardian.com/culture/2015/dec/12/serial-thrillers-why-true-is-popular-cultures-most-wanted
<p>The genre is witnessing a new era of popularity led by US podcast Serial, Channel 4’s recent The Murder Detectives, and bestselling books</p><p>At a time of record prices for theatrical hits and hysterical competition to get tickets for the first screenings of the new Star Wars movie, it seems odd that two of the biggest cultural events of the year should be available for nothing. However, the second series of Serial – a sequel to a 2014 podcast that attracted 68 million listeners after its first release – <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2015/dec/10/serial-podcast-series-season-2-bowe-bergdahl-sarah-koenig">became available for download on Thursday</a>, and <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2015/dec/01/murder-detectives-review-real-life-investigation-gripping-moving">The Murder Detectives</a>, a late contender for the lists of 2015’s most compelling television shows, was seen free to air on Channel 4 and remains available on demand.</p><p> <span>Related: </span><a href="http://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2015/dec/10/serial-podcast-series-season-2-bowe-bergdahl-sarah-koenig">Serial podcast returns as Bowe Bergdahl talks US military 'desertion' for first time</a> </p><p> <span>Related: </span><a href="http://www.theguardian.com/books/2013/oct/02/charles-graeber-top-10-true-crime-books">Charles Graeber's top 10 true crime books</a> </p><p> <span>Related: </span><a href="http://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/dec/03/best-crime-and-thriller-books-of-2015">Best crime and thriller books of 2015</a> </p><p> <span>Related: </span><a href="http://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/oct/23/even-dogs-in-the-wild-by-ian-rankin-review-rebus">Even Dogs in the Wild by Ian Rankin review – a satisfying return for Rebus</a> </p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2015/dec/12/serial-thrillers-why-true-is-popular-cultures-most-wanted">Continue reading...</a>CultureTrue crimeSerialTelevisionPodcastingBooksDigital mediaInternetMediaTelevision & radioBowe BergdahlRobert DurstIan RankinTruman CapoteVal McDermidRuth RendellFictionCrime fictionSat, 12 Dec 2015 07:00:44 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/culture/2015/dec/12/serial-thrillers-why-true-is-popular-cultures-most-wantedPhotograph: Lee Celano/REUTERSPhotograph: Lee Celano/REUTERSMark Lawson2015-12-12T07:00:44ZDark Corners by Ruth Rendell review – a spookily perfect farewellhttps://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/oct/22/dark-corners-ruth-rendell-review
There are nods to Shakespeare and Breaking Bad in this London-based thriller, the final book from a giant of crime fiction<p>The last words of <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/books/ruth-rendell" title="">Ruth Rendell</a>’s 66th novel, it can be revealed without plot-spoiling, consist of&nbsp;someone declaring: “Now it’s all over.” The little metafictional innuendo of closing a book in this way was surely intended, but admirers of the writer will now experience a tender accidental extra meaning, as the sentence turned out to be the last words of fiction written by Rendell before <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/may/02/ruth-rendell-writer-dies-aged-85" title="">her death in May</a>.</p><p>Suddenly incapacitated after completing the manuscript, Rendell had no reason to know that this would be her final book, but the climactic phrase of <a href="https://bookshop.theguardian.com/catalog/product/view/id/334649/" title=""><em>Dark Corners</em></a> is only one of several elements that seem spookily perfect as a farewell to her formidable career. Some readers might have wished her to leave them with a book featuring chief Inspector Reg Wexford, the Sussex detective who featured in two dozen novels. Rendell, though, was always clear in interviews that she&nbsp;never wanted to bring the Wexford sequence to a formal close, and has avoided doing so. Her final composition, though, brings to neat symphonic resolution themes and notes from the explorations of psychology, and especially psychopathology, which, under her own name and the pseudonym Barbara Vine, formed the other major strand of her output.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/oct/22/dark-corners-ruth-rendell-review">Continue reading...</a>Crime fictionRuth RendellBooksCultureFictionJK RowlingIan RankinThu, 22 Oct 2015 06:30:03 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/oct/22/dark-corners-ruth-rendell-reviewPhotograph: Felix ClayBlack comedy … Ruth Rendell. Photograph: Felix ClayPhotograph: Felix ClayBlack comedy … Ruth Rendell. Photograph: Felix ClayMark Lawson2015-10-22T06:30:03ZThe New Girlfriend; Pitch Perfect 2; John Wick; The Goob; Faults – reviewhttps://www.theguardian.com/film/2015/sep/20/new-girlfrend-pitch-perfect2-john-wick-review-dvd
<p>François Ozon pays Ruth Rendell a slinky tribute, Pitch Perfect 2 hits all the right notes, while Keanu Reeves sharpens up in a menacing thriller</p><p>It is, perhaps, a curious indication of national genre snobbery that Ruth Rendell, surely one of our most silkily brilliant crime writers of any generation, <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/may/02/ruth-rendell-obituary-crime-writer">died earlier this year</a> with her oeuvre still largely untouched by British film-makers. Some respectable television adaptation, sure. A B-movie or two in the 80s, fine. But on the continent major film-makers – <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/film/2010/oct/17/la-ceremonie-crime">Claude Chabrol</a>, <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/film/movie/90713/betty-fisher-et-autres-histoires">Claude Miller</a>, <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/film/movie/34626/live.flesh">Pedro Almodovar</a> – have known how to treat her nasty, needling narratives with the requisite style. To that group we can now add <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/film/2015/jun/13/how-ruth-rendell-became-the-favourite-of-french-cinema">François Ozon</a>, whose slinky, utterly delectable take on <strong>The New Girlfriend</strong> (Metrodome, 15) is both a liberal, Gallic-as-Gaultier interpretation, and as fitting a Rendell tribute as could have been released in the year of her passing.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/film/2015/sep/20/new-girlfrend-pitch-perfect2-john-wick-review-dvd">Continue reading...</a>DVD and video reviewsFilmCultureThe New GirlfriendRuth RendellFrançois OzonPitch Perfect 2Keanu ReevesSun, 20 Sep 2015 06:00:17 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/film/2015/sep/20/new-girlfrend-pitch-perfect2-john-wick-review-dvdPhotograph: /PRRomain Duris in The new girlfriendPhotograph: /PRRomain Duris in The new girlfriendGuy Lodge2015-09-20T06:00:17ZBest holiday reads 2015https://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/jul/12/best-holiday-reads-2015-observer-summer-holiday
<p>From a portrait of modern-day Britain at work to New York in the 1940s, taking in the secret world of Fifa and tales of female friendships, authors, critics and other bookworms tell us which books they will be reading on the beach</p><ul><li><em>To save up to 30% on all books in the summer reading list, go to <a href="https://bookshop.theguardian.com/catalog/category/view/s/observer-summer-reading-list/id/292/?utm_source=editoriallink&amp;utm_medium=merch&amp;utm_campaign=article">bookshop.theguardian.com</a></em><br></li><li><em><a href="http://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/jul/11/best-holiday-reads-2015">The Guardian’s best holiday reads</a></em></li></ul><p><strong>Novelist</strong><br></p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/jul/12/best-holiday-reads-2015-observer-summer-holiday">Continue reading...</a>Summer readingFictionHistoryPoetryThrillersCrime fictionHouse and gardenAS ByattDavid MitchellToni MorrisonJeremy PaxmanSebastian FaulksJohn BanvilleJackie KayAlexander McCall SmithKen FollettHarper LeeElena FerranteBlake MorrisonPhilip HensherMark HaddonGeorge EliotIan RankinHari KunzruVS NaipaulJulian BagginiJosie RourkeRobert PestonOwen SheersCurtis SittenfeldLucy Hughes-HallettJohn GrayMargaret DrabbleVal McDermidPoliticsColm TóibínKarl Ove KnausgaardRuth RendellJulie MyersonMariella FrostrupBooksCultureSun, 12 Jul 2015 07:00:03 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/jul/12/best-holiday-reads-2015-observer-summer-holidayPhotograph: Illustration by Sarah Tanat-Jones.Photograph: Illustration by Sarah Tanat-Jones.The Observer2015-07-12T07:00:03ZHow Ruth Rendell became the favourite of French cinemahttps://www.theguardian.com/film/2015/jun/13/how-ruth-rendell-became-the-favourite-of-french-cinema
<p>François Ozon’s latest film The New Girlfriend is just the most recent illustration of French film-makers’ love of Rendell – they have no snobbery about genre<br></p><p><a href="http://www.theguardian.com/film/claude-chabrol" title="">Claude Chabrol</a> had a&nbsp;knack for starting things. In 1957, he co‑wrote the first book on <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/film/movie/150108/hitchcock" title="">Hitchcock</a>. The following year, he became the first of the <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/books/2011/oct/18/story-cahiers-cinema-emilie-bickerton-review" title="">opinionated Cahiers du Cinéma critics</a> to make a&nbsp;feature film, and he later helped his slow-coach colleagues, Godard and <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/film/francoistruffaut" title="">Truffaut</a>, on&nbsp;their way. His willingness to take Hitchcock seriously provoked a&nbsp;transatlantic deluge of criticism and interpretation, and the <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/film/2009/apr/18/nouvelle-vague-film-cinema" title="">New Wave produced following waves</a> in Germany, Britain, Czechoslovakia, the US and Brazil. Then, in 1995, Chabrol adapted Ruth Rendell’s novel <em>A Judgment in Stone</em> as <em>La Cérémonie</em>, kicking off a vogue for French films of Rendell that includes Claude Miller’s controlled and gripping <em>Betty Fisher and Other Stories</em> (based on <em>Tree of Hands</em>), Gilles Bourdos’s moody, unsettling, if somewhat abstract <em>Inquiétudes</em> (based on <em>A Sight for Sore Eyes</em>, the film’s English title), and now François Ozon’s sprightly, benign and – hardly surprising, given its origins in a 15-page story – <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/film/2015/may/21/the-new-girlfriend-review-francois-ozon-ruth-rendell" title="">overextended <em>The New Girlfriend</em></a>.</p><p> <span>Related: </span><a href="http://www.theguardian.com/film/2015/may/21/the-new-girlfriend-review-francois-ozon-ruth-rendell">The New Girlfriend review – bold adaptation of a Ruth Rendell short story</a> </p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/film/2015/jun/13/how-ruth-rendell-became-the-favourite-of-french-cinema">Continue reading...</a>The New GirlfriendRuth RendellBooksFilmCultureSat, 13 Jun 2015 06:00:01 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/film/2015/jun/13/how-ruth-rendell-became-the-favourite-of-french-cinemaPhotograph: handoutPhotograph: handoutLeo Robson2015-06-13T06:00:01ZThe New Girlfriend review – bold adaptation of a Ruth Rendell short storyhttps://www.theguardian.com/film/2015/may/21/the-new-girlfriend-review-francois-ozon-ruth-rendell
François Ozon’s latest film blurs the boundaries between psychological thriller and absurdist melodrama, but suffers from not settling on either<p>Once again, it’s up to the Europeans to do the late Ruth Rendell justice, and Ozon’s loose adaptation of her short story of the same name fits right in along Almodóvar’s <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pYLgjp9yON0" title="">Live Flesh </a>and Chabrol’s <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fqkaSodgEuM&amp;index=5&amp;list=PLjp8b-jQBwNu4vaC1A0g7e0FwjJjH3dn9" title="">La Cérémonie</a>. It’s arguably bolder than either in its smooth blurring of bourgeois boundaries between gay/straight, masculine/feminine and possibly sane/insane.</p><p>It’s almost impossible to describe the outlandish story without giving away an early revelation. Reeling from the death of her lifelong friend Laura, meek suburban wife Claire (Anaïs Demoustier) drops in to see Laura’s husband David (Romain Duris), only to find him in, well, compromising circumstances. At first disgusted, Claire finds herself supporting, then positively encouraging David’s big secret, and in the process their relationship drifts into dangerously uncharted territory, all coloured by the ghostly memory of&nbsp;Laura. (<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mYYLquxN2zQ" title="">Otto Preminger</a> would have&nbsp;approved.)</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/film/2015/may/21/the-new-girlfriend-review-francois-ozon-ruth-rendell">Continue reading...</a>The New GirlfriendFilmCultureFrançois OzonRomain DurisFilm adaptationsRuth RendellThu, 21 May 2015 20:15:06 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/film/2015/may/21/the-new-girlfriend-review-francois-ozon-ruth-rendellPhotograph: Bertrand Calmeau/Mandarin Cinema/PRUncharted territory … Romain Duris and Anaïs Demoustier in François Ozon's The New Girlfriend.Photograph: Bertrand Calmeau/Mandarin Cinema/PRUncharted territory … Romain Duris and Anaïs Demoustier in François Ozon's The New Girlfriend.Steve Rose2015-05-21T20:15:06ZRuth Rendell: memories of a friend who stood by mehttps://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/may/08/ruth-rendell-memories-of-a-friend-who-stood-by-me
<p>Jeanette Winterson reflects on her first meeting with Ruth Rendell nearly 30 years ago and the remarkable friendship that followed</p><p>I met <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/books/ruth-rendell">Ruth Rendell</a> in 1986. She was living in a large house in Polstead, Suffolk with her husband, Don. I was living in a room in Kentish Town, London. Ruth had been a successful writer for 22 years and published 25 novels. I had published my first novel <a href="http://bookshop.theguardian.com/oranges-are-not-the-only-fruit.html"><em>Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit</em> </a>the year before.</p><p> <span>Related: </span><a href="http://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/may/02/no-one-can-equal-ruth-rendells-range-or-accomplishment-crime-writer">No one can equal Ruth Rendell's range or accomplishment | Val McDermid</a> </p><p> <span>Related: </span><a href="http://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/may/02/ruth-rendell-and-pd-james-giants-of-detective-fiction">Ruth Rendell and PD James: giants of detective fiction</a> </p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/may/08/ruth-rendell-memories-of-a-friend-who-stood-by-me">Continue reading...</a>Ruth RendellCrime fictionBooksFictionCultureFri, 08 May 2015 13:00:03 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/may/08/ruth-rendell-memories-of-a-friend-who-stood-by-mePhotograph: Fenris Oswin/PRRuth Rendell (left) and Jeanette Winterson. Photograph: Fenris OswinPhotograph: Fenris Oswin/PRRuth Rendell (left) and Jeanette Winterson. Photograph: Fenris OswinJeanette Winterson2015-05-08T13:00:03ZLetter: Ruth Rendell was very comfortable when her books were adapted for ITVhttps://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/may/06/letter-ruth-rendell-obituary
<p>You knew exactly where you were with <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/may/02/ruth-rendell-obituary-crime-writer" title="">Ruth Rendell</a>. A consummate professional, she was very comfortable when her books were adapted for the ITV network. <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2011/oct/08/george-baker" title="">George Baker</a>, who played Wexford so perfectly that Ruth began quickly to see him in her mind as she started to write a new detective novel, the series producer, Neil Zeiger, the directors and I, as executive producer, enjoyed a special relationship, but she never missed a trick.</p><p>Although she was quick to articulate any problem or difference of opinion as she reviewed each screenplay, Ruth also understood that her work was respected by us all and that her creations were undergoing a different process as they were realised for the screen. Not only did we enjoy 15 years of an exceptional professional relationship but we were all friends. She knew our families, we socialised together from time to time, and she loved a gossipy lunch in Soho.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/may/06/letter-ruth-rendell-obituary">Continue reading...</a>Ruth RendellBooksTelevision & radioITV NewsWed, 06 May 2015 15:11:31 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/may/06/letter-ruth-rendell-obituaryPhotograph: Richard Gardner/Rex ShutterstockRuth Rendell with George Baker, who played Reg Wexford on television Photograph: Richard Gardner/Rex ShutterstockPhotograph: Richard Gardner/Rex ShutterstockRuth Rendell with George Baker, who played Reg Wexford on television Photograph: Richard Gardner/Rex ShutterstockGraham Benson2015-05-06T15:11:31ZAppreciation: Ruth Rendell quickly became a valued member of the House of Lordshttps://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/may/04/ruth-rendell-appreciation
<p>Ruth Rendell was not only a distinguished author, she was also a much loved colleague and friend. She entered the House of Lords in the first list of Labour peers after the 1997 election, taking the title Lady Rendell of Babergh – a recognition of her beloved Suffolk. She quickly became a valued member, attending regularly and taking part in the life of the house.</p><p>Her day began at 5.30am with exercise, including a stint on her cross trainer; she also did pilates twice a week. She started writing in the early morning, but always made sure that she arrived at 2.30pm for Question Time in the Lords.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/may/04/ruth-rendell-appreciation">Continue reading...</a>Ruth RendellBooksHouse of LordsFemale genital mutilation (FGM)CharitiesMon, 04 May 2015 16:37:04 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/may/04/ruth-rendell-appreciationPhotograph: /DDP USA/RexRuth Rendell in 2012. Photograph: DDP USA/RexPhotograph: /DDP USA/RexRuth Rendell in 2012. Photograph: DDP USA/RexValerie Amos, Doreen E Massey and Jill Pitkeathley2015-05-04T16:37:04ZRuth Rendell: From the archivehttps://www.theguardian.com/books/from-the-archive-blog/2015/may/03/ruth-rendell-interviews-archive
<p>Interviews with Ruth Rendell from the Guardian and Observer archive</p><p><a href="http://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/may/02/ruth-rendell-writer-dies-aged-85">• Ruth Rendell, crime writer, dies aged 85</a></p><p>Ruth Rendell wrote more than 60 novels, from the Inspector Wexford crime series to the darker, more psychological thrillers written as Barbara Vine.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/books/from-the-archive-blog/2015/may/03/ruth-rendell-interviews-archive">Continue reading...</a>Ruth RendellBooksCrime fictionFictionCultureSun, 03 May 2015 08:00:01 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/books/from-the-archive-blog/2015/may/03/ruth-rendell-interviews-archivePhotograph: United News/Popperfoto/Popperfoto/Getty ImagesPhotograph: United News/Popperfoto/Popperfoto/Getty ImagesRichard Nelsson2015-05-03T08:00:01ZNo one can equal Ruth Rendell's range or accomplishment | Val McDermidhttps://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/may/02/no-one-can-equal-ruth-rendells-range-or-accomplishment-crime-writer
<p>Current British crime writing owes much to a writer who consistently showed that the genre can continually reinvent itself</p><p><a href="http://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/may/02/ruth-rendell-writer-dies-aged-85">• Ruth Rendell, crime writer, dies aged 85</a></p><p><a href="http://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/may/02/ruth-rendell-and-pd-james-giants-of-detective-fiction">• Ruth Rendell and PD James, giants of crime fiction</a></p><p> <span>Related: </span><a href="http://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/may/02/ruth-rendell-writer-dies-aged-85">Ruth Rendell, crime writer, dies aged 85</a> </p><p>I woke up this morning to a distant view of dark hills and grey skies and thought inevitably about the opening stanza of WH Auden’s elegy to WB Yeats: </p><p><em>The mercury sank in the mouth of the dying day.</em></p><p><em>What instruments we have agree</em></p><p> <span>Related: </span><a href="http://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/may/02/ruth-rendell-obituary-crime-writer">Ruth Rendell obituary</a> </p><p> <span>Related: </span><a href="http://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/may/02/ruth-rendell-five-key-works">Ruth Rendell: five key works</a> </p><p> <span>Related: </span><a href="http://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/may/02/ruth-rendell-in-quotes">Ruth Rendell: In quotes</a> </p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/may/02/no-one-can-equal-ruth-rendells-range-or-accomplishment-crime-writer">Continue reading...</a>Ruth RendellCrime fictionCultureUK newsPoliticsBooksFictionHouse of LordsSat, 02 May 2015 13:50:49 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/may/02/no-one-can-equal-ruth-rendells-range-or-accomplishment-crime-writerPhotograph: Martin Argles/GuardianPhotograph: Martin Argles/GuardianVal McDermid2015-05-02T13:50:49ZRuth Rendell and PD James: giants of detective fictionhttps://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/may/02/ruth-rendell-and-pd-james-giants-of-detective-fiction
<p>Rendell and her great friend James, who died last November, brought the genre critical respect, and they not only wrote about the law – they changed it, too</p><p>On Wednesday evening this week, publishers and readers of crime fiction gathered at Temple church in London’s law quarter for the memorial service of PD James, one of the two finest English crime-writers of the 20th century. A poignant absentee was the other: Ruth Rendell was too frail to attend the farewell to her great friend and co-practitioner following a severe stroke in January, complications from which led to her death, announced on Saturday, at the age of 85.<br></p><p> There is a clearly a bleakness in the fact that the genre of detective fiction has lost two of its giants within six months, but there is also a neatness. Rendell and James were always closely allied, both professionally and personally. One of Rendell’s last public engagements before her final illness had been to attend, in December, the funeral of PD James in Oxford.</p><p> <span>Related: </span><a href="http://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/may/02/ruth-rendell-obituary-crime-writer">Ruth Rendell obituary</a> </p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/may/02/ruth-rendell-and-pd-james-giants-of-detective-fiction">Continue reading...</a>Ruth RendellFictionBooksWomenHouse of LordsPD JamesFemale genital mutilation (FGM)Sat, 02 May 2015 13:24:19 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/may/02/ruth-rendell-and-pd-james-giants-of-detective-fictionPhotograph: Adrian Sherratt/Rex ShutterstockPhotograph: Adrian Sherratt/Rex ShutterstockMark Lawson2015-05-02T13:24:19ZRuth Rendell, crime writer, dies aged 85https://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/may/02/ruth-rendell-writer-dies-aged-85
<p>Creator of Inspector Wexford, who also wrote as Barbara Vine, was admitted to hospital after serious stroke in January</p><p><a href="http://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/may/02/no-one-can-equal-ruth-rendells-range-or-accomplishment-crime-writer">• Val McDermid: No one can equal Ruth Rendell’s range or accomplishment</a></p><p><a href="http://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/may/02/ruth-rendell-in-quotes">• In her own words</a></p><p><a href="http://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/may/02/ruth-rendell-five-key-works">• Five key works</a></p><p>Ruth Rendell, one of Britain’s best-loved authors, who delighted fans for decades with her dark, intricately plotted crime novels, has died at the age of 85, her publisher has announced.</p><p>Baroness Rendell of Babergh, the creator of Inspector Wexford and author of more than 60 novels, had been admitted to hospital after a serious stroke in January and died in London on Saturday morning. The statement from her publisher, Hutchinson, said her family had requested privacy.</p><p> <span>Related: </span><a href="http://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/may/02/ruth-rendell-and-pd-james-giants-of-detective-fiction">Ruth Rendell and PD James: giants of detective fiction</a> </p><p> <span>Related: </span><a href="http://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/may/02/ruth-rendell-obituary-crime-writer">Ruth Rendell obituary</a> </p><p> <span>Related: </span><a href="http://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/may/02/ruth-rendell-in-quotes">Ruth Rendell: In quotes</a> </p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/may/02/ruth-rendell-writer-dies-aged-85">Continue reading...</a>Ruth RendellCrime fictionCultureUK newsBooksFictionSat, 02 May 2015 13:23:52 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/may/02/ruth-rendell-writer-dies-aged-85Photograph: Murdo Macleod/GuardianPhotograph: Murdo Macleod/GuardianAlison Flood and Vanessa Thorpe2015-05-02T13:23:52ZRuth Rendell obituaryhttps://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/may/02/ruth-rendell-obituary-crime-writer
Crime novelist famed for her Inspector Wexford books who also wrote dark and chilling thrillers under the pen name Barbara Vine<p>Ruth Rendell, Lady Rendell of Babergh, also known as Barbara Vine, who has died aged 85, was a literary phenomenon. From 1964, when her country copper, Reg Wexford, first stepped before the reading public in <a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/From-Doon-With-Death-Wexford/dp/0099534789" title="">From Doon With Death</a>, she wrote more than 50 crime novels and seven books of short stories. Many of them were adapted for television or made into feature films; the Wexford books in particular were an enormous success on TV, with the actor <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2011/oct/08/george-baker" title="">George Baker</a> playing Wexford as a big, gruff, rural policeman, solving crime in the fictional Sussex town of Kingsmarkham.</p><p>But Rendell was never satisfied with producing the annual whodunnit. She demonstrated this when, rather than follow her first Wexford novel with more of the same, she daringly jumped away from the classic English mystery in her second book, To Fear a Painted Devil (1965), and gave readers a taste of the psychological thrillers to come.</p><p> <span>Related: </span><a href="http://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/may/02/ruth-rendell-in-quotes">Ruth Rendell: In quotes</a> </p><p> <span>Related: </span><a href="http://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/may/02/ruth-rendell-five-key-works">Ruth Rendell: five key works</a> </p><p> <span>Related: </span><a href="http://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/may/02/no-one-can-equal-ruth-rendells-range-or-accomplishment-crime-writer">No one can equal Ruth Rendell's range or accomplishment | Val McDermid</a> </p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/may/02/ruth-rendell-obituary-crime-writer">Continue reading...</a>Ruth RendellCrime fictionBooksUK newsCrime dramaThrillersPoliticsAssisted dyingNewspapersLabourLondonHouse of LordsSat, 02 May 2015 13:03:13 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/may/02/ruth-rendell-obituary-crime-writerPhotograph: ITV/Rex/ITV/ResRuth Rendell in 2004. Photograph: ITV/Rex/ITV/ResPhotograph: ITV/Rex/ITV/ResRuth Rendell in 2004. Photograph: ITV/Rex/ITV/ResStanley Reynolds2015-05-02T13:03:13ZRuth Rendell: In quoteshttps://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/may/02/ruth-rendell-in-quotes
<p>Ruth Rendell, creator of Chief Inspector Wexford, and some of Britain’s best-loved crime novels, has died aged 85. Here are some of her thoughts on life and literature</p><p><em>Ruth and Barbara are two aspects of me. Ruth is tougher, colder, more analytical, possibly more aggressive … Barbara is more feminine … For a long time I have wanted Barbara to have a voice as well as Ruth. It would be a softer voice speaking at a slower pace, more sensitive perhaps, and more intuitive.”</em></p><p><a href="http://www.gusworld.com.au/books/vine/why.htm">– Introduction to US paperback editions of <em>A Dark Adapted Eye</em> and <em>A Fatal Inversion</em></a></p><p><em>Some say life is the thing, but I prefer reading.</em> </p><p><strong>- A Judgement in Stone (</strong>1977)</p><p><em>His books distracted him for a while. They were like the aspirins you take when you’ve got a headache. They kill the pain for two hours and then it comes back.</em> </p><p><strong>―<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/47687.Barbara_Vine"> </a> Gallowglass,</strong> by Barbara Vine (1990)</p><p><em>Time, the best of all doctors, though it kills you in the end, had done more than therapy could.</em></p><p><strong>― A Fatal Inversion,</strong> as Barbara Vine (1987)</p><p><em>Our children, when young, are part of ourselves. When they grow up they are just other people.</em></p><p><strong>―The Chimney Sweeper’s Boy (</strong>1998)</p><p><em>We are all mad at three in the morning</em></p><p><em>While most of the things you’ve worried about have never happened, it’s a different story with the things you haven’t worried about. They are the ones that happen </em></p><p><strong><em>- </em>Talking to Strange Men (</strong>1987)</p><p><em>The knives of jealousy are honed on details.</em></p><p><strong>- An Unkindness Of Ravens, </strong>1985</p><p><em>The old detective story that’s got a really complicated tortuous motive doesn’t apply to mine. It’s that people do these things almost by accident, or because of anger, their rage, their madness – and then probably regret it.</em></p><p><a href="http://www.theguardian.com/culture/2013/mar/01/ruth-rendell-life-in-writing">-A Life in Writing, the Guardian, 2013</a></p><p><em>Maybe being married is talking to oneself with one’s other self listening.</em></p><p>I’ve had two proposals since I’ve been a widow. I am a wonderful catch, you know. I have a lot of money. </p><p>- <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/donotmigrate/3640185/Her-dark-materials.html">Telegraph interview, 2005 </a></p><p>There are no words to express the abyss between isolation and having one ally. It may be conceded to the mathematicians that four is twice two. But two is not twice one; two is two thousand times one … </p><p>I think about death every day - what it would be like, why it would happen to me. It would be humiliating to be afraid. </p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/may/02/ruth-rendell-in-quotes">Continue reading...</a>Ruth RendellBooksCrime fictionFictionSat, 02 May 2015 13:00:06 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/may/02/ruth-rendell-in-quotesPhotograph: JANE MINGAY/ASSOCIATED PRESSPhotograph: JANE MINGAY/ASSOCIATED PRESSGuardian Staff2015-05-02T13:00:06ZRuth Rendell: five key workshttps://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/may/02/ruth-rendell-five-key-works
<p>Writing as both Ruth Rendell and Barbara Vine, the crime writer, who has died aged 85, helped redefine the genre of crime fiction. We round up the key titles</p><p><a href="http://bookshop.theguardian.com/from-doon-with-death-2.html"><strong>From Doon with Death (1964)</strong></a><br></p><p>Chief Inspector Reginald Wexford first appeared in Rendell’s debut novel, when an “ordinary” wife goes missing in the small Sussex town of Kingsmarkham. A search of the attic reveals a stash of books inscribed to Mina with love from a mysterious Doon. More than 20 novels later Rendell explained why she kept returning to her taciturn detective. “I don’t get sick of him because he’s me,” she said. “He doesn’t look like me, of course, but the way he thinks and his principles and his ideas and what he likes doing, that’s me. So I think you don’t get tired of yourself.”<br><a href="http://bookshop.theguardian.com/judgement-in-stone.html"><strong>A Judgement in Stone (1977)</strong></a><br></p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/may/02/ruth-rendell-five-key-works">Continue reading...</a>Ruth RendellBooksCrime fictionCultureSat, 02 May 2015 13:00:06 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/may/02/ruth-rendell-five-key-worksPhotograph: Martin Argles/theguardian.comPhotograph: Martin Argles/theguardian.comGuardian Staff2015-05-02T13:00:06Z